Shae Goom
In 1992 Shae started his apprenticeship at his Fathers sign shop in the sunny Hawkes Bay, this at a time when yachting took up all his spare time.
On completion of his apprenticeship, a 4 month trip around Europe was the celebration of gaining a trade, then returning back to working at Hayter & Flemming Signs in Napier with a very empty bank account. One year after returning to Napier, a job was offered in Christchurch, which was accepted, and the one-way Cook Strait ferry crossing was booked. Shae worked at Signwise Christchurch from 1999, first as a tradesman, then as a production manager right up until the day after the 2011 February earthquake, where an offer to purchase the Wellington branch of Signwise was accepted. Another one-way Cook Strait ferry crossing was booked, and he is still the owner of Signwise Wellington surrounded by a great team. In late February, an opportunity presented itself to purchase the Auckland branch of Signwise, which took two months to get acceptance and approval, and by the 2nd May 2016, Signwise Auckland had a new ownership structure, which includes two Auckland based partners. When not either in front of the computer, or on the tools, Shae loves to travel, usually looking for a sign show somewhere in the world, snowboarding, and red wine. One day when there is more time, he would love to get back into ocean activities like yachting and diving.
Jolene Cruz
Jolene grew up in the Signage industry back in South Africa. Jolene’s father was a painter by trade and she remembers when he bought his first vinyl cutter in 1996, and how the signage world started to change from then. After qualifying as a hotel manager in 2002, she pursued a key accounts sales role in her father’s business for the next six years, providing customer service to more than ten corporates. From 2009 to 2016, Jolene and her brother ran their own business which employed more than twenty staff members. In the beginning of 2016, Jolene made the decision to sell her shares and immigrate to New Zealand. She and her family took some time to travel around South Africa before making the big move in February of 2017. With fifteen years signage and advertising experience under her proverbial ‘advertising belt,’ it was inevitable she’d continue in New Zealand’s signage industry. Jolene believes that great business is built on great relationships and her passion for design has spurred her desire to offer an authentic service to all her clients. She aims to provide you with the most affordable concept that will give you the perfect platform to enable your business to be seen.
Michelle Henry
Fourth generation signwriter, hands-on business professional and owner of one crazy (rather large) dog.
As a 4th generation signwriter, it’s safe to say that Michelle knows the industry pretty well. From as early as she can remember, Michelle was encouraged to decorate the kitchen door window at her grandparents’ house by cutting up off-cuts of vinyl (under supervision of-course) and applying them haphazardly to the glass. From the age of 4 she was making bedroom door signs for her friends. By the time she became a teenager, Michelle was fabricating, sign painting and even conducting site surveys.
In 2010 Michelle started her own sign company where she accomplished more than she could ever have imagined. She was privileged to work with many fantastic businesses, including some big-name brands such as Yell, Beiersdorf (Nivea) and Ted Baker and even won several global industry awards for her work.
Fast forward to 2022 when Michelle moved to beautiful New Zealand and found employment with Wise Studios.
